Miguel Sanders Busted in "Scream" Heist and Shootings, Two Suspects at Large

Update: Yesterday morning, we told you about the manhunt related to a bank robbery and subsequent shootings near Sheridan High School — a series of incidents that resulted in all public schools in Sheridan being closed on Thursday. See our previous coverage below.

The Sheridan schools are back open today, even though police have only arrested one person — Miguel Sanders — out of three who are thought to have committed the crimes.

In the meantime, additional details have emerged about what went down. And they're frightening in the extreme.

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A fresh account from the Lakewood Police Department notes that officers received a call at 11:09 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18, about a "takeover"-style bank robbery at the FirstBank branch near Jewell and Kipling.

The suspects were described as three to four black males wearing masks associated with the movie Scream; the LPD has now concluded that the actual number of participants was three.

The robbers put bank employees in a vault before leaving the scene in a dark-colored Jeep with cash estimated at just over $50,000. Little did they know that GPS devices hidden in the cash were allowing the cops to track them.

A few blocks away, the men discarded the Jeep in favor of a second vehicle. The ride was driven to the 3200 block of South Vance Street, where it was also ditched.

At that point, the suspects are said to have confronted a male victim in front of his residence, on the 6800 block of West El Dorado Place.

Shortly thereafter, they took his vehicle, a silver van, and when he refused to go with them, they shot him multiple times. He was originally reported to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but Fox31 notes that he was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

The suspects drove the van to an area near Sheridan High School, where they apparently got into a crash and abandoned it.

Next, they tried to commandeer the vehicle of a mother and daughter, ages 52 and 29, respectively. Fox31, citing police documents, reveals that one of the suspects punched the daughter, who was driving, in the face — and then, after she retaliated with a face-punch of her own, he slugged her again, causing her to lose consciousness just as she was shot in the hand. The mother, meanwhile, hit the third suspect with her purse. He responded by punching her in the face, too.

After all this, the men failed to steal the car, since it was rigged with a breathalyzer and they couldn't figure out how to make it work.

By then, more than 100 officers, including ten K-9 units and three SWAT teams, had been deployed in the area — and they managed to bust Sanders in the high school's bus barn, where he'd unsuccessful attempted to steal a bus. But the other pair escaped.

This isn't the first item on Sanders's rap sheet. Fox31 points out that he was arrested on an attempted murder beef in 2006 — the charge was later dropped — and he remains on parole in relation to a 2007 bank robbery in which masks were also used.

His bond is set at $1 million.

In the meantime, the search continues for the other two men. One is described as a heavy-set black male, while the other has shoulder-length braided hair possibly in corn rows. They're both thought to be in their twenties.

If you have any information about this case, you're encouraged to contact the Lakewood Police Department at 303-987-7111 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).

Original post, 5:58 a.m. November 19: A manhunt is underway for three-to-four robbers who executed a bank heist while wearing masks of the sort associated with the movie Scream, then allegedly took part in a carjacking and assault that resulted in two people being shot.

As noted by Fox31, the robbery took place around 10:40 a.m. at the FirstBank branch near the intersection of West Jewell Avenue and South Kipling Parkway.

A bank robber who wore a "Scream" mask during a September heist. The masks and actions of yesterdays robbers were similar. Additional images and videos below.

FBI

There, employees were locked in a vault by what are described as suspects wearing Scream masks.

Thus far, surveillance photos from the crime haven't been released.

But in September, the FBI shared images of robbers wearing Scream masks who knocked over the US Bank at 1414 Carr Street. In that incident, two robbers reportedly threatened to kill tellers, with one bank employee suffering minor injuries. Meanwhile, another man in a Scream mask burst into a nearby 7-Eleven at 1110 South Pierce in Lakewood and fired two shots in what investigators speculate was an attempt to distract authorities from responding to the bank robbery.

Here are a series of FBI-provided images from the Carr Street robbery....

FBI

FBI

FBI

...as well as a pic of the man who shot up the 7-Eleven:

FBI

After the FirstBank robbery yesterday, the robbers allegedly committed a carjacking on the 6800 block of West Eldorado Place during which the owner was shot.

He suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Shortly thereafter, the men dumped the stolen vehicle near Sheridan High School, located at South Federal and West Oxford. They then shot a second person and assaulted another individual. Both are expected to survive their injuries.

Searches were conducted in the area throughout the afternoon and evening, but the men haven't been found as of this writing. For this reason, all schools in Sheridan will be closed today, out of an abundance of caution, while police continue looking for the men.

If you have any information about these crimes, you're encouraged to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). Look below to see two Fox31 reports about the day's frightening events.

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Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.

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